In a recent game against Saint Louis University, sixth-year University of Rhode Island guard Dee Dee Davis took a pass on the left wing and threw up a three-point heave.
The shot splashed through, giving Davis her third three-point basket in just two minutes.
Even though seeing the ball go through the hoop was great, that was not the main focus for Davis on the basket. The real highlight for Davis on that scoring play was her surroundings.
While the nylon strings clung to the orange rubber of the ball, her teammates erupted in cheers. Her wife Calpurnia cheered her on from the sideline and the fans of her dream school erupted in euphoria.
Just six years ago Davis came to a realization that this moment may never happen for her. Davis, who was set to come to Kingston to start her undergraduate years in 2018-2019, tore her anterior cruciate ligament in her final year of high school.
With the poorly timed injury, Davis’ scholarship and spot on the team was revoked by former head coach Daynia La-Force and her coaching staff. With that, all the anticipation to play for a program she was dead set on vanished into thin air.
“I was all set to go here and it was devastating, it was heartbreaking when they sort of revoked that offer,” Davis said. “I sort of felt like, ‘are you kidding? like that sucks.’”
Davis then committed to Manhattan College, where she had a very productive five-year career with the Jaspers. A member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Rookie team, as well as receiving All-MAAC Second Team honors once and All-MAAC First Team honors twice, Davis finished her time in Manhattan with 1,401 points.
Following her graduation from Manhattan, Davis entered the transfer portal to satisfy her final year of National Collegiate Athletic Association eligibility. One of the calls she received was from the University of Rhode Island, although she was not very keen on a conversation initially.
“I said, ‘I’m so sorry, I really appreciate you reaching out to me but you guys just didn’t want me, are you forgetting that?,’” Davis said. “And they were like ‘No Dee Dee, you have this messed up. I understand that the previous coaching staff may have reached out to you or revoked your offer, but that wasn’t us and I can guarantee you this coaching staff would have never done that’.”
Despite the initial sales pitch, Davis was not convinced and took some preparation for the switch into her own hands.
“I took it upon myself to do more research about the program that coach Reiss was building and it seemed to be absolutely different from the previous coaching staff, night and day,” Davis said. “So that stuck out to me and I thought ‘okay, maybe I can come around to this’.”
Davis’ play style, while she excels offensively, averaging 10 points per game for the Rams this season, is also anchored defensively.
“That’s me, that’s Dee Dee Davis,” Davis said. “I’ve actually torn both my ACL’s, that’s me through and through. I’ve torn my left ACL and my right ACL, in which order, I can’t remember, I just know I have both scars to prove it… I’m that kind of player, I don’t care, I put my body on the line because this sport means so much to me… so if I have to dive into a crowd and get a loose ball, I’m gonna do it.”
The value of Davis to the Rhode Island squad extends beyond what she can do on the court. Her infectiously positive attitude in the locker room is just as important as what she does on the floor.
“She’s the best teammate,” URI Assistant Coach Megan Shoniker said. “She comes into the gym, she says hi to everybody, and it’s not just a quick hi, it’s a genuine hi… she just makes people feel good and that was one thing that we found out in the recruiting process is that anyone who touches Dee Dee or [anyone who] Dee Dee touches, they absolutely love it.”
Even though most people only see her on the court, Davis also has her life outside of basketball. Davis lives an unconventional college life; she is married, has a dog and a house and her lifestyle does not go unnoticed amongst her teammates.
“This summer, for instance, after workouts [my teammates] would say ‘Do you want to go do something?’ and if I’m free particularly I would, but oftentimes I found myself saying ‘I’ve got to go mow my lawn,’” Davis said. “These little interactions I have, they crack me up, [my teammates] laugh at me so much because they are like ‘Dude you live an unheard of college experience.’’
Although she is unlike her peers, Davis sees these differences as a positive.
“I get to see how a lot of my teammates live and also I’m not sure they’ve had a teammate who is quite like me before so it’s really a good trade off because we learn a lot from each other,” Davis said. “In terms of living off campus, I do have a wife, we have a dog, so it’s not a big deal. It’s not as much of a big deal as you’d think because when we are together we maximize that time that we have.”
Davis and the rest of the Rams are in the final stretch of her last collegiate season. Davis, however, has plenty of fond memories to fall back on.
“I don’t think I will look back and remember me getting hurt while diving for a ball or winning games or losing them,” Davis said. “I think I will remember the time one of my teammates laughed so badly they spit up milk or something. I think I will remember those relationships for a lifetime.”
Davis and the Rams are back in action when they host Davidson College on Saturday at 1 p.m.. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.